Bullying: Study in Bengaluru and Delhi schools triggers Govt to take action

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is mulling an action plan to curb the menace of bullying, after a study involving schools in Bengaluru and Delhi.

The study also focussed on ragging in higher education institutions.  

Top officials of the ministry and various regulatory bodies have favoured implementation of the recommendations of a six-member government-appointed committee, which conducted a psychological study of ragging in higher educational institutions and bullying in schools a few years ago.

The panel, which interviewed more than 1,400 students of six schools-four in Bengaluru and two in Delhi-noted in its report to the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2015 that almost 40% students admitted to these schools had gone through "some kind of ragging," 35.1 % faced "mild ragging" and 4.1% students were subjected to "severe ragging."

The committee, headed by a faculty member of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), also recommended   making schools more inclusive and promoting diversity, saying that a significant proportion of the students (41%) reported that "a full range of aggressive behaviours", including social aggression and aggression on social media was "commonly seen" in the schools.

Study on bullying indicated "a continuum" commencing from the families to the schools and finding expression in ragging in colleges and higher education institutions, the panel underlined in its report.

UGC to act

"The UGC has been directed to write to the school education department of the HRD ministry for implementation of the committee's recommendations for putting a check on instances of bullying in schools," official sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting, held under the HRD ministry's higher education department secretary last month to review the measures taken so far to check the menace of ragging in higher education institutions.

Senior officials from various regulatory bodies, including All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Medical Council of India (MCI), attended the meeting.